Bradley: Marquez made mistakes vs Pacquiao

ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. believes Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico made certain mistakes that led to his defeat at the hands of Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in their trilogy bout last November.

Marquez once again used his excellent counter-punching ability to outbox Pacquiao, but the Filipino boxer still won via majority decision.

“Marquez stepped back and counter-punched a bit, but he didn’t get the decision because it didn’t seem like he wanted to win,” said Bradley, as quoted by RingTV.

“If you want to win the championship, you’ve got to take it to the champion,” he added.

Bradley will challenge Pacquiao for the World Boxing Organization welterweight champion on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the same place where Pacquiao defeated Marquez last November.

Bradley said Marquez should have “(made) a fight out of it” in the trilogy bout.

“If Marquez would have stepped up, grabbed his balls and stepped up to Pacquiao and made a fight out of it, and win the last couple of rounds, he probably would have won,” Bradley said.

“But he didn’t do that. He laid back and let Pacquiao control the tempo and control the action, and Pacquiao ended up winning those rounds. So, it’s just a mixture of things.”

Bradley was also in action that night in November, as he defeated Cuban veteran Joel Casamayor in the main undercard bout via an eighth-round technical knockout.

“One thing that I do know, is that I know how to win,” Bradley said. “I know when I’m down, and I know how to pick it up.”

“I just need to know how to make adjustments in the ring. I’m good at that,” he added.

Bradley is undefeated through 28 professional fights, but he will be facing the toughest task of his career against Pacquiao, one of two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world along with Floyd Mayweather Jr.